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U.S. Seeks Continued Chinese Cooperation on POW/MIA Issue

A senior DoD delegation has concluded talks in China about additional cooperation on POW and MIA cases.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for POW/Missing Personnel Affairs Jerry D. Jennings led a delegation to China this week to explore opportunities with Chinese officials. His two days of talks included discussions with officials from the Chinese governments Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of National Defense. Additionally, the delegation met with officials of the Chinese Red Cross to discuss matters relating to the POW camps which the Chinese managed during the Korean War.

The Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office has policy oversight of the U.S. governments mission to bring home Americans missing in action from all conflicts. Some 88,000 are still missing from the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Korean War, World War II and Desert Storm.

The people and government of China have provided us assistance over the years in resolving Vietnam War cases, as well as those from World War II. And, most recently, it was through their cooperation that we recovered the remains of an American pilot missing in action from the Korean War, Jennings said.

He added, But theres much more work to be done, and Im confident the discussions just concluded will move us forward on several cases.

During the discussions with Chinese officials, Jennings continued to explore options for reviewing documents related to the POW camps where Americans were held during the Korean War. He also thanked officials for Chinese support for investigations and remains recovery operations in 2004.

Following his talks in Beijing, he is scheduled to travel to Dandong, China, to thank local officials for their help in a recent Korean War era remains recovery.